100 percent mark-up for new unit at Park Imperial building

A new, 2,292-square-foot unit hitting the market at the Park Imperial building on 56th Street is asking $8.3 million, more than double what its owner, Los Angeles real estate finance executive David Lasaee, paid for it in 2005. The reason for the markup, according to a source with knowledge of the listing, is the rarity of high-end, park-adjacent properties on the market today.

Unit 69A, purchased for $4.1 by the Arca Advisors exec, was recently renovated and designed by social fixture, interior-design guru and wife of money manager Boykin Curry, Celerie Kemble.

“The renovation is partly influencing the price,” the source said, “but there’s also nothing left on the market. If you have an $8 million buyer who wants a view of the park, there’s nothing to show them.”

The tipster cited recent high-priced deals at the Time Warner Center, 15 Central Park West, and continued interest in Extell Development’s under-construction, One57, nearby, which is notoriously relying on interest from global billionaires, as examples of the ongoing demand for luxury trophy properties in Manhattan.

“There’s so much wealth coming in [to New York] from foreign buyers,” he said. “[In light of the European debt crisis] people just aren’t comfortable putting their money anywhere else.”

The Park Imperial has been a much sought-after building in recent years, especially by celebrities, who see its in-house parking garage as a means to escape curious passersby or the paparazzi. Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra, rapper P. Diddy, and actor Christopher Meloni all live in the building, and Bond actor Daniel Craig rented a three-bedroom unit in the building while starring in “A Steady Rain” on Broadway with Hugh Jackman in 2009.

Though the apartment officially hit the market yesterday, Ryan Serhant, a senior vice president at Nestseekers, has reportedly been quietly showing the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment to investors for a couple of weeks.